Phonograph



March 22 1927' F. .1. SEABOLT HO OGRAPH Q Filed Aug. 2 1918' 3Sheets-Sheet 1 March 22 1927.

F. J. SEABOLT PHONOGRAPH Filed Aug. 2, 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1322,05March 7" F. J. SEABOLT PHONOGRAPH Filed Aug. 2, 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 vPatented Map, 22, 1927.

K UNITED STATES y 1,622,005 PATENT OFFICE.

V FRANK J. SEABOLT, Oil SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT ANDMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE PHONOGRAPH COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PHONOGRAZPH.

Application filed August 2, 1918. Serial No. 247,908.

My invention relates to the control of phonographs and the like and hasfor its object the provision of means whereby a device of this charactermay be caused to automatically repeat its operation.

My invention is particularly applicable to phonographs in which thespring is electricall wound although it is not necessarily limite tothis particular application. In my previous application, Serial Number26,059, filed May 5th, 1915, I have described and claimed means wherebythe spring motor of a phonograph is electrically wound whenever thespring motor is stopped, the

' entire control of both starting and stopping of the machine and thewinding, of the spring being accomplished by manipulating the usualstarting lever of the machine. One of the objects of my invention is tomake the machine entirely automatic so that it will automatically wind,return the tone arm to its starting position, and repeat the recordwhile at the same time preserving the control through the single lever.

As is well known, there are two distinct typesiof phonographs, one ofwhich'is exemplified in the machine known as the Victrola, while theother is of the Edison type, In the Victrola type of machine the tonearm is moved forward by the engagement of the needle with the record andhas no positive drive, while in the Edison type of machine the ,tone armis driven forward positively by the spring motor. It is possible topositively drive thev tone arm of the Edison type of machine because therecords'are all made with the same pitch: viz, the same number otthreads per inch, While in'the' Victrola type the records may, and inpractice do,. have different pitches. The result is that the two typesof machines require specifically different types of control foraccomplish-,

r inglthe same purpose.

eferringto my above mentioned previous application, one of thecharacteristic features of the arrangement described therein lies in thefact that the motor winds the spring exactly the amount that it has rundown. That is, assuming that inplaying a record there have been acertain number of turns made by the record, that same number of turnswill be restored to the-sprin upon winding. I have conceived the idea ofutilizing this characteristic in returning the tone arm since, assumingthe pitch of all of the records to be the same, by properly gearing themotor to the tone arm, the latter will be returned exactly the distancewhich it has travelled. This would also be true of the Victrola typeproviding that a standard pitch were adopted for records, but under thepresent practice this simple arrangement will not be suitable.

In order to provide for diilerent pitches as used in the Victrola typeof machine, I have provided a limit switch to stop the return motion ofthe tone arm instead of having it stop when the winding operation iscompleted. This limit switch interrupts the circuit to stop the windingoperation and stop the tone arm before the circuit is broken at thecontacts which normally control the winding and hence before the machineis completely wound, so that while the machine is repeating, it is underthe control of the limit switch only. When the machine is stopped,however, the spring is wound completely. In order that this limit switchshall operate at the proper time for all records. regardless of theirlength or pitch, the position at which the limit switch will operatemust be set for each record. One of the important features of myinvention lies in the arrangement whereby this posit-ion is fixedautomatically for each record without V eriorming any other o ';er:1-tion than merely moving the starting lever to release the machine. Thereare no more operations than in the case of simple phonographs, merelythe shifting of the starting lever.

Other features of my invention, such as the arrangement ,for lifting andlowering the needle, the arrangement for throwing the stop and returnmechanism into operation at the end of the record for varying lengths ofrecords will appear in the course of the following specification inwhich I have shown my Invention embodied in concrete form for purposesof illustration.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form ofmy invention partly broken-away to show the interior structure; Fig. 2is a plan View of the same, also partly broken away; Fig. 3isadiagrammatic view showingcthe relation of the Fig. 4 is a sectionalview of the motor shaft and worm gear; Fig. 5 is an end View of thesame; Fig. (5 is a top plan view of the clutch on the tone arm and thelimit switch; Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the clutch; Fig. 8 shows atemplate for marking the records and Fig. 9 a diagram of a slightlymodified form of my invention; Figs. 10 to show the arrangement usedwith the Victrola type of machine where records are used which have astandard pitch; Fig. 16 shows my invention applied to the Edison type ofmachine, and Fig. 17 shows a detail thereof.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 to 9, I have shown my inventionapplied to a phonograph of the Victrola type where the records used havevarious pitches, consisting of the casing 10, tone arm 11, rotary table12, and reproducer 13 pivoted at 14. I have not attempted to show thespring motor mechanism further than to illustrate the s ring drum 15enclosing spring 16 which rives the gearing 17 which in turn drives thespindle 18 of the rotary table in a well understood manner. The spring16 within the spring drum is wound through a shaft 19 either by thecrank 20 or by the electric motor 21. The arrangement whereby the motorwinds the spring is the same as that disclosed in my .previouspatentapplication above referred to, the only difierence being thatinsteadof spur gearing for driving the motor and the sliding contacts,worm gearing is employed. It will therefore be unnecessary to describethe winding mechanism in detail. The motor 21 drives the spring shaftthrough a worm 22 meshing with a worm gear 23 which drives the shaft 19through a slip connection in the nature of a ratchet 24.

This ratchet is for the purpose of enabling the machine to be wound u bythe crank without affecting the electric motor. The shaft 19 extendsthrough the drum and has at its outer end a worm oflarge diameter 25 anda worm of the same diameter25 is secured to the outside of the drum, sothat as the winding takes place the worm 25 will turn, and as the springmotor operates the worm 25 will turn. The worm 25 drives a worm wheel 26and the worm 25' drives a similar worm wheel 27 to which are securedvertical shafts 28 and 29 respectively. These shafts are mounted in abracket 30 provided with suitable bearings and the upper ends of theshafts are provided with gears 31 and 32 respectively, the gear on theshaft 28 being loosely mounted by means of a sleeve 28'. The gear 32 isdriven by the gear 31 through an idler gear 33 so as to give the gear 32the same direction of rotation as theshaft 28 upon which it is mounted.There is thus shaft- 28 driven by the electric motor operating in onedirection and the gear mounted upon the shaft and driven by the springmotor operating in the same direction. This arrangement will be betterunderstood from Fig. 3 from which it will be seen that sliding springcontact 34 mounted on a conducting disk 36 secured to shaft 28 is drivenby the electric motor and the eccentric rib 35 upon the conducting disk37 driven by sleeve 28 is driven by the spring motor, both operating inthe same direction. Thesetwo members, namely, the spring 34 and the disc36 upon which it is mounted and the, rib 35 together with the conductingdisc 37 upon which it is mounted, constitute the electric controldescribed in my previous application above referred to. 38 representsthe usual stop lever of the phonograph provided ,with contacts 39 which,when the phonograph is stopped, close the circuit of the electric motorthrough the contact spring 34 and the disc 37, as described in myprevious application. Up to this point, therefore, the arrangementdescribed is identical in operation with that disclosed in my previousapplication.

I shall now describe the novel features whereby the tone arm isreturned, when the end of a record is reached, to the point from whichit started regardless of the length of the record or the pitch (numberof threads per inch). For this purpose, as shown in the drawing, Iutilize the shaft 28 which, it will be remembered, is driven by theelectric motor during the winding. Secured to the shaft is a bevel gear40 which drives a gear 41 through shaft 42 and bevel gears 43. This gear41 meshes with a gear 44' which is mounted'to be clutched to the tonearm so that when the clutch is operative the electric motor will drivethe tone arm through the gears 41 and 44. This clutch is shown indctailinFigs. 6 and 7. It has two functions, one of which is to clutchthe gear 44 to the tone arm 11 while the other is to clutch a stopfinger 45 so that it will move with the tone arm. therefore, the clutchis in reality a double clutch I have shown merely one winding While,

46 and a resistance 47 to be placed in circuit with it. The arrangementis such that when the winding 46 is in series with the resistance 47only the magnetic disc 48Iupon which the stop finger 45 is mounted will.be clutched to the tone arm, whereas when the resistance is cut out ofthe coil circuit the energization will be suflicient to alsoclutch thegear 44 which, as shown, is of magnetic material. It will be understood,of course, that the magnetic casing 49 for the windingis permanentlysecured to the tone arm so that when the coil is energized the disc 48,-or the disc and the gear, as the case may be, will close the magneticcircuit through the casing 49 in a well understood manner. The stopfinger 45 operates a limit switch 50 in one direction and a stop 51,which is rigidly secured to the casing 49 so that it always clutched tothetone arm, when the tone arm moves in one dlrection 1t will close theswitch and when in the opposite direction it will open it. If,therefore, the stop finger is fixed to the tone arm at the properpointto open the switch when the tone arm is at the beginning of itstravel, it will of course open the switch when it comes back to thatposition. This I accomplish by merely operating the starting lever 38'as hereinafter described.

It is obvious, of course, that before the tone arm can be'turned theneedle must be lifted out of engagement with the record. This Iaccomplish in a very simple Way by causing the shaft 52 of the electricmotor to move longitudinally a slight distance upon the initialenergization of the motor. The worm 22 is not rigidly secured to themotor shaftbut is driven through a lost motion connection. As shown, theshaft 52- is threaded at 52 into the worm and'the shaft.

drives the worm 22 through the pin 53 secured to the shaft and the pin54 secured to the worm. The arrangement is such that the shaftmakesapproximately one revolution before it turns the worm 22 and inthat one revolution the shaft advances to the extent of the pitch of thethread 52 and places the spring 55 under strain. In otherwords, as theshaft 51 rotates the spring 55 is put under strain while the pin 53travels around a revolution until it engages the pin 54 (on the oppositeside from that shown) to drive the worm. After this engagement the shaftdrives the worm through the pins 53 and 54. I utilize this longitudinalmovement to lift the needle by means of a flexible connection, such as awire 56, which, as shown, extends through the tone arm and is secured at57 to the inside of the sleeve which forms the pivot 14 for thercproducer. I also utilize this movement. to short circuit theresistance 4-7 outof the circuit of the clutch winding'46. This isaccomplished by a lever 58 pivoted at 58', as shown. y

In order to cause the tone arm to operate the limit switch and start thewinding operation when the end of the record is reached, I set the fixedstop 51 so that the limit switclu will be operated when the needlereaches a certain definite distance from the center of the record, whichdlstance will be indicated by the circular groove 59, and I bring theneedle over to this point quickly by running a groove 60, of arelatively steep pitch, from the last thread of the record over to thepoint which. in this case is a circle 59. In other words, when theneedle reaches the end of the thread it will be suddenly thrown over tothe circle 59 which will operate the switch. This will be doneregardless of variations in the distances from the circle to the pointat which the record ends.

I shall now describe the operation of the device as a whole andpoint'out the circuit connections. Assuming that the machine is .stoppedand the record 61 placed upon the machine, thetneedle is placed in theusual way in the first groove before starting the machine. The lever 38is then thrown to start the machine and in doing so closes contacts 62as shown in Fig. 3 and opens the contacts 39. This energizes the winding46 of the clutch coil from the positive side of the line through thecontacts 62, through the resistance 47, through the clutch coil and backto the negative side of the line. The energizing of the winding 46 withthe resistance 47 in series, clutches the stop finger disc 48 to thecasing 49 so that the stop "finger will now move forward with the tonearm. Since the stop finger has been left in the position in which itoperates the limit switch to open position, it will therefore operate itagain in that position when it comes back. The machine has now beenstarted and the tone arm goes forward in the usual way being entirelyunimpeded but simply carying the stop finger 45 .with it.

When the end of the record is reached, the tone arm is suddenly shiftedover to the circle 59 whereupon the fixed stop 51 operates the limitswitch 50 to closed position into engagement with the. contact 63. Acircuit will now be established as follows: From the positive side ofthe line, through the switch 50, contact 63, through the brush 64,spring contact 34, which is noW intontact with the disc 37, through thebrush 65, through the motor 21 to the other side of the line. The motornow starts and at its first revolution the shaft 52 operates the openedby the contact spring 34 passing ofl of the rib 35, so that instead ofopening the motor circuit at the spring contact 34, it will be opened atthe limit switch 50. When therefore the tone arm reaches its initialposition it opens the limit switch '50 and deenergizes the'motor. "Thedeenergization of the motor will allow the shaft 52 to return onerevolution in response to the spring 55 which has been under strain andhence the needle will be allowed to return to the record since the wire56 has slackened. The

- wire 56 will stop it.

resistance 47 is also inserted in the clutch coil circuit, so that thegear 44 will be released. The spring having been wound and the needlereplaced,'the record will of course be repeated. This repetition can goon as long as desired.

It will be noted from the above that when the arm is returned andthe'motor circuit is opened that the motor had not quite wound thespring to its original tension. Upon the stopping of the machine,however, by throwing the stop lever 38 to the stopping position, thecontacts 39 will be bridged thereby completing a circuit from thepositive side of the line, through contacts 39, brush 64, spring contact34, brush 65, through the motor and back to line.

' The motor will now be wound up until the circuit is broken at thecontact 34, that is, it will be wound up to its original point.

,- It will be noted that in stopping the machine the circuit of theclutch coil is broken at the cont-acts 62 so that whenever the machine.is stopped the stop finger 45 will be left at the point where ithappens to be. Before stopping the machine, therefore, the needle shouldbe lifted (which is usually done in phonographs) and the tone arm turnedback (as is also usually done) as far as it will go, that is, until thestop finger 45 strikes the limit switch (see Fig. 6 By then stopping themachine the winding will be completed as above described and the stopfinger will be in its proper v position.

- As soon as the stop lever is thrown to the stopping position, the tonearm will be free. If, however, the operator should neglect to lift theneedle and turn the tone arm back no harm will be done. The recordsimply will not be repeated. \Vhat will happen will be thatthe needlewill be carried beyond the record and released. The needle will not,however, drop to the table, since the The tone arm will simply swingfree after it is released beyond the record. In this connection itshould be noted that the wire 56 is always given enough slack when theneedle is released to permit the reproducer to vibrate from theunevenness of the record or to the table being out of true. The slack,however, need not be sufiicientto allow the reproducer to drop farenough to let the needle strike the table.

Regarding the limit switch 50, it will be noted that I have shown alimit switch of the over center type which, when the arm is moved to acertain position, the spring will throw the switch arm over, and whenthe arm is thrown to the other position, the spring will throw theswitch arm back. In Fig. 6 I have shown the switch in the open positionwith the operating arm against the spring butter 67. \Vhen the arm ofthe switch strikes this buifer'it has advanced just far enough to throwthe switch arm to the off position, and the stop finger 45 shouldnormally rest in contact with the arm in this position. In order toinsure that the stop finger normally remains in contact, I maypermanently mag netize the end of the stop finger slightly. Normallythere is no tendency for the stop finger to leave the switch arm exceptpossibly due to jars or vibrations, and if the stop finger is magnetizedit should only have sufiicient strength to make it hug the switch armclosely during such jars or vibrations but not sutficient to prevent itleaving the switch arm when the tone arm moves forward.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a slight modification involving an additionalfeature which may be used if desired. It may be that the operator willnot care to have the machine repeat, in which case I provide means forhaving it stop when the end of a record is reached instead of repeating.To this end I provide a winding 68 which when energized will throw thestop lever 38 to the off or stopping position and provide a switch 69having two operating members 70 and 71 which may project through the topof the case as shown in Fig. 2. When the member 70 is pressed downwardthe stopping coil 68 will be short eircuited and when the member 71' ispushed down the 'stopping coil will be energized. It will be observedthat the connections are substantially the same as in Fig. 7 3 with theexception of the modification necessitated by the use of the stopwinding 68. It will be noted that when the member 70 is pressed thesystem will operate just as has been above described, that is, themachine will continue to run when the end of a record is reached, thetone arm will be turned back and the record repeated. The parts will bein the positions shown in Fig. 9 during the playing of the record, theclutch coil 46 being energized through contacts 39; but when the end ofa record is reached the switch 50 ,will beautomatically closed therebycom].)leting the motor'circuitfrom the left hand ter'minal through theswitch 50 to the contact 73, thence to the pivotal point of switch 69and through wire 74 to the brushes 64 and 65 ofthe sliding contacts (seeFig. 3) and to the motor 20 and thence to the opposite side of the line.The winding 68 is now short eircuited from the contact 73 through theswitch 69 to the conductor 74. When, however, ,the member 71 is pressed,the short circuit on the winding a record is reached through the winding68 and conductor 74, through the brushes 65 and 64 and sliding contactsassociated therewith, through the motor 20 to the opposite side of theline. When the stop lever is operated by the energization'. of winding68 there will be a circuit from the limit switch to the contact 75,through the clutch coil 46 and out to the other side of the line. Theresult is-when the end of the record is reached the stop lever 38 willbe thrown to the stop position thereby stopping the machine but themotor will wind the spring and turn the tone arm back to the startingposition. When. the winding operation is completed the stop winding 68will be dcenergized so that the stop lever 38 may be operated manually.

It will be that by this arrangement I may obtain either full automaticoperation or.

semi-automatic operation, that is, operation in which the record willnot be repeated but the machine will be stopped.

With the above described arrangement it is immaterial what the pitch ofthe record may be or its length. It is only necessary to put the needieon the record, throw the stop lever to starting position and the machinewill continue to run, wind up, turn the tone arm back and repeat as longas is desired, or if the repeat is not desired, the

machine may be stopped at the end of a record.

niay be used for applying the groove at the end of a record to recordswhich are already in existence or, in fact, are in the hands of theusers. This template may be of any thin material conveniently ofcelluloid since this is transparent. The template is simply placed on arecord with the central spindle of the machine in the slot 76. A.pointed instrument is placed in the groove 7 7 and at its outer end. Thetemplate can then be moved by reason of the slot 7 6 until the pointedinstrument engages the end of the thread on the record. The template isthen held in place and the pointed instrument moved inward to the endwhere it will reach the groove 60 (Fig. 3). It is intended, of course,that this groove will be made on rec- J ords in the course ofmanufacture, that is,

while the reproducing is being done on the blank this groove may beadded as a continuation of the main thread. I have simply shown thistemplate to indicate how records may be cared for which are already inexist- In Fig. 8 I have shown a template whichmotor and thetone arm maybe calculated exactly when the number of threads per inch on the recordis known. In this arrangement, instead of bringing the lever to adefinite point (59 on Fig. 3) the needle is thrown over a predeterminedamount from the end of the record. As shown in Fig. 14 for instance, aspiral of about 4" pitch (a movement inward of X in one turn) wouldprobably take care of the records as made today, that is, in difi'erentrecords the needle is carried to different distances from the center ofthe record and the maximum difference between these distances would notexceed /4. In computing the gearing, therefore, between the motor andthe tone arm, this constant distance must be reckoned with. In otherwords, the tone arm is always returned a distance which is the sum of afixed distance (the final quick movement of the tone arm) and a variabledistance which will depend upon the length of the record.

In Fig. 10 I have not attempted to show all of the construction, sinceup to the gear 78 the construction is the same as that in the previousdrawing (Figs. 1 and 2). The gear 78 meshes with the gear 79 which isclutched .to the tone arm just as gear 44 is clutched in Figure 1. Itwill be noted from Figure 11 that the circuit of the motor is closed atthe end of a record by stationary spring contacts 8Q between which thecontact 81' on may'only move a short distance between thecontacts or itmay move the full length of the contacts, but it will reach its finalpositlon between the spring contacts quickly and before the needle islifted. To insure this, it

may be desirable to have a resistance 82 in 1'15 circuit with the motorinitially so that its initial movement which lifts the needle will beslow and this resistance as well as the contacts 80 and 81 will be shortcircuited at the switch 83 operated by the motor which corresponds toswitch 5 8 (Fig. 3). 0

The sliding contact arrangement is somewhat modified in this form of myinvention to insure that if the-starting lever of the machine should bemoved to stopping position just after the circuit is opened at thesliding contacts upon the return ofthe tone arm. or. in fact, at anytime upon the return movement prior to the closing of the slidingcontacts, the tone arm will be returned. In other words, after thecircuit 1s opened at the sliding contacts it does not close again untilthe machine has run some distance, perhaps half a record, depending uponthe length of the rib 88. 'In order to overcome this difficulty Iprovide an auxiliary contact 84 which engages with a short rib 84' inaddition to the contact 85 which corresponds With contact 34 and the rib38 which corresponds with rib (Fig. 3). This auxiliary contact 84continues to make contact when the motor has finished winding but willopen circuit upon a very slight further movement. The circuit to themotor is closed through this auxiliary contact only when the stop lever86 is thrown to the stopping position whereas the circuit through themotor is closed at the main contacts when the tone arm reaches a properposition. The result is that as the tone arm is being returned, themotorcircuit is closed at the main contacts and is opened when thecontact 85 passes off rib 88 but the contact 84 is connected with themotor and remains so connected when the main contacts separate sinceitdoes not pass off its rib 84' and on to the insulation. The circuit at84 will open upon a very slight movement beyond the point where the maincontacts open to stop the motor. Therefore if. after the main contactsopen, the starting lever should be thrown to stop the machine and bridge"the contacts 87 the motor will be again energized to wind the machineand return the tone arm, the circuit being from the upper terminalthrough the contacts 87 and contact 84, to the metallic disk 97 thenceto the motor and the other side of the line. It will be understood thatthe parts 84 and 84 will operate in the same manner as the parts and 88,the only difference being that the'rib 84' is a very short one. Thespring contacts 84 and 85 must, of course, be insulated from each other,and to this end they are mounted on separate disks 98 and 99, insulatedfrom each other by the insulating plate 100. The tone arm may,therefore, in some cases return slightly beyond the point where itstarted although the added distance will be so slight that it willscarcely be noticeable. The mode of operation is otherwise the same asin the arrangement shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. In Fig; 13 I have shown amodification in which a stopping winding 89 is employed. This windingcorresponds with winding 68, Fig. 9, and may be thrown in and out ofcircuit by a switch 89'. Otherwise the arrangement is the same as thatshown in Fig. 11.

In Fig, 16 I have illustrated my invention in connection with an Edisontype of machine. In this type of machine, as above pointed out, the tonearm in playing a record, is driven by a worm 90, meshing with a wormwheel segment 91. instead of being driven by the record. The segment 91is pivoted at 92 so that'in order to return the tone arm it is onlynecessary to lift the segment 91, out of engagement with the worm andinto engagement with another worm 93 driven by the motor and controlledby the sliding contacts. When the winding motor is energized at the endof a record,.

the lever 94 is turned on its pivot so as to pull the wire 95 which isattached to the sector 91 and is also attached to the needle. Theoperation of. the lever 94 is the same as that of lever 58 (Fig. 3). Theenergization of the motor, therefore, connects the motor to the tone armso that the latter will be driven backward and also lifts the lever offthe record. The circuit of the motor is closed at the contacts 96 (Fig.17), which will be closed when the' needle reaches the end of the recordand moves out of the groove. As soon as the motor starts, however, thecircuit will be closed at the contact 83 (Fig. 11) and will be opened atthe sliding contact 85 when the motor has completed the winding. Thegear relation between the worm 93 and the sector 91 will be such as tobring the tone arm to its original position when the winding iscompleted. The arrangement whereby the circuit is closedwhen the end ofa record is reached is the same as that now furnished With Edisonmachines for energizing a coil tostop the machine. It is a standarddevice and requires no detailed description. It will be understood, ofcourse, that these standard contacts will correspond with contacts 8081Fig. 11 and will only make the circuit of the motor but not maintain orbreak it:

While I have described my invention as embodied in concrete form and asoperating in a specific manner in accordance with the provisions of thepatent statutes, it should be understood that I do not limit myinvention thereto, since various modifications thereof will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritof my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

l. The combination with a spring operated phonograph for playing discrecords of different diameters of means for automatically winding thesame when the end of a record of any diameter is reached, and means forsimultaneously returning the tone arm to its starting point.

2. The combination with a spring operated phonograph for playing discrecords no I of difi'erent diameters, of an, electric motor forautomatically winding the same, means whereby when the end of arecord ofany diameter is reached the J electric motor is started to wind thespring and means whereby the said operation of the motor returns thetone armto its starting point after whic operation the'motor is stopped.

3. The combination with a spring operated 4. The combination with aspring operated phonograph, of means whereby when the tone arm reachesthe end. of a record the spring is incompletely'wound and the tone armreturned to its starting position, and means whereby when the machine isstopped at any time the spring is wound to its starting condition.

5. The combination with a spring operated phonograph, of an electricmotor for wind ing the same, means whereby when the end of a record ofany length is reached the winding operation of the motor takes place andthe tone arm is simultaneously returned to its starting position andmeans for insuring that the spring is wound to its starting conditionwhenever the machine is stopped.

6. The combination with a phonograph or the like, of means for causing areturn movement of the reproducer upon the completion of arecord andlimiting-means automatically preset upon the placing of the reproduceron the record and the starting of the machine for stopping the returnmovement of the reproducer at its starting point.

7. The combination with a spring operated phonograph or the like havinga member for starting and stopping the same, of an electric motorarranged to wind the spring when the starting member is moved to stopthe machine or when a record is completed and means whereby theoperation of the motor at the completion of a record lifts the needleand returns the tone arm.

8. The combination with a spring operatedphonograph or the like having amember for starting and stopping the same of an electric motorcontrolled thereby for winding the same, means for returning the tonearmfitoward its starting position during operation and means preset bythe starting of the phonograph for causing the return movement to stopat various starting positions of the tone arm.

9. The combination with a phonograph or Y the like, of means for causinga return movement of the needle when the end of a record of anyv lengthis reached and means controlled by the starting member for stopping thereturn movement at the starting point to repeat the record.

10. The combination with a spring operated phonograph and an electricmotor for winding the same, of means whereby the motor winds the springincompletely and simultaneously .returns the tone arm to its startingposition when the tone arm reaches a predetermined position and meanswhereby the motor Windsthe spring completely when the machine isstopped.

11. @T he combination with a spring operated phonograph and acontrolling member for stopping and starting the phonograph, of anelectric motor arranged to wind the spring and return the tone arm whenthe end of a record is reached, a member carried bv the tone arm andmovable with reference thereto for stopping the movement of the tone armand means for fixing the member with reference to the tone arm when thecontrolling member is operated to start the phonograph. a

T2,. The combination with a spring operated phonograph, of an electricmotor for winding the same, a controlling element for stopping andstarting the phonograph, a controlling member for the motor circuitassociated with the tone arm and means whereby the said member is fixedwith relation to the tone arm by the movement of the controlling elementto start the phonograph.

13. The combination with a phonograph and a control member therefor, ofmeans whereby the tone arm is returned when the end of a record isreached, a switch for stopping the return movement of the tone arm andmeans whereby the positionof the tone arm at which the switch'isoperated is fixed by the movement of the control member to startingposition. I

14. The combination with a phonograph orthe like, of means forautomatically returning the reproducer when the end of a record isreached and means preset by the starting of the phonograph for stoppingthe return movement of the reproducer at its starting point. I

15. The combination with a phonograph .01- the like, of means forwinding the spring and returning the reproducer when the end of a recordis reached, and means preset by the starting of the phonograph forstopping the return movement of the reproducer and the operation of thewinding motor at the starting point of the reproducer.

16. The combination with a spring operated phonograph or the like ofanelectricmotor for winding the same, contacts controlled by the springand the motor itself for controlling the motor circuit and a contact inseries with said contacts controlled by the movement of the tone arm. c

17.. The combination with a phonograph or the like ofan electric motorenergized to return the tone arm when theend of a record is reached andmeans automatically set by the operation of the starting lever of the'machine and the placing of the needle upon the record for stopping thereturn movement of the tone arm at the position it occupied when themach ne was started,

18. The combination with a phonograph or the like of means forautomatically returning the reproducer when the end of a record isreached, a device for limiting the return movement of the reproducer,and means for automatically setting said device upon the starting of themachine so that the reproducer will be stopped at its starting position.

19. The combination with a phonograph or the like, of means forautomatically returning the tone arm when the end of a record isreached, and means automatically set when the machine is started andincluding a switch mechanism for controlling the returning means to stopthe return movement in various positions depending upon the diameter ofthe record. 1.

20. The combination with a phonograph or the like, of means forautomatically returning the tone arm when the end of a record isreached, switch mechanism for controlling the return movement and meansoperated by the tone arm and automatically set when the machine isstarted for actuating said mechanism at various positions of the tonearm depending upon the diameter 01 the record. i

21. The combination with a phonograph, of an electric motor associatedtherewith, connections whereby the electric motor in its operationreturns the tone arm towards starting position and meansnormallyindependent ofthe tone arm but secured so as to move with itwhen the machine is stal'tctL for controlling the circuit of the motor.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of July,1918.

FRANK J. SEAB 0LT.

